Eeek! Jaime Lynn Hendricks just managed to blow my socks off yet again! With a twisty, unbeatable plot, smartly played cliffhangers, and plenty of morally gray characters, Their Double Lives had me spellbound from the very first page. I mean, who wouldn’t love a story that starts off with a woman’s love for her dog? If you’ve read anything by this author before, though, then you know that was just the start as, from there, it all went deliciously off the rails. After all, Ms. Hendricks has a knack for spinning tales within tales all while injecting dark, snarky humor into the words.

While the plot was brilliant with a capital B, the characters were easily the special sauce to this downright—and delightfully—manipulative novel. True-to-life but also dramatic in the best possible way, the well-developed personas ran the gamut from genuinely root-for-able to out-and-out creepy. Not once, though, did they seem over-the-top. You see, every single step of the way, I could see each of their dilemmas clearly in my mind’s eye. Thanks to clear motivations and fully fleshed out backgrounds, they all came to life for me more and more with each page.

Speaking of that plot, with dual timelines and multiple POVs, it was beyond well-plotted—it was executed to absolute perfection. With short, tantalizing chapters, cat-and-mouse antics, and a heaping dose of unreliable narrators, there wasn’t a moment where I wasn’t looking at someone or something with complete and utter suspicion. You see, as the ratcheting pace picked up steam, I found my armchair sleuthing outmaneuvered over and over. Clever, suspenseful, and delivering plenty of perfectly timed whiplash, my mind reeled more with each new fact that I learned.

All said and done, this popcorn thriller was the epitome of binge-worthy and addictive. Sure to be one of the most buzzed about thrillers of the year, I was easily won over hook, line, and sinker. After all, thanks to a storyline steeped in revenge, there was no end to the deception as I found myself switching sides with each new reveal. So if you love immersive storylines, wild rides, or the con-artist trope, pick up this one ASAP as you’re not going to want to miss out on this novel. That’s one fact that those of us with Thriller Book Lovers: The Pulse agree on for sure. Rating of 5 stars.

Thank you to Jaime Lynn Hendricks, Scarlet Suspense, and NetGalley for my complimentary physical and digital copies. All opinions are my own.

Jaime Lynn Hendricks will forever be one of my all time favorite authors! I LOVE the nonlinear timelines she writes and the perspectives of different characters! She writes in such a phenomenal way that I feel like I’m sitting with a girlfriend dishing the latest gossip while simultaneously being shocked and blown away with all of the crazy twists! I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next! I’m already salivating for her next book! 87 billion stars from me!!!

If I could rate this 6 stars I would!! I ate this book up and left no crumbs. The writing was amazing, the storyline was executed perfectly, and I was literally addicted to this book. I highly recommend reading this book if you’re looking to have your mind blown.

Their Double Lives is a twisty, high-stakes thriller where a down-on-her-luck waitress, a scheming fiancée, and a mysterious stranger collide in a deadly game of deception, revenge, and blurred identities.

This book blew me away! Jaime Lynn Hendricks delivers a brilliantly crafted thriller that had me hooked from the first page. The twists were razor-sharp, the pacing relentless, and I was completely obsessed with unraveling the mystery behind The Stranger.

I especially loved the dual timelines—PJ’s backstory was dark, compelling, and impossible to look away from. The characters were deliciously manipulative, yet surprisingly likable, and Hendricks kept them grounded in just the right way. Every reveal hit perfectly, and I tore through the pages needing to know what happened next. Hendricks is now firmly on my auto-buy list—I can’t wait to see what she writes next!

Thank you to the author, Scarlet Suspense, Thriller Book Lovers: The Pulse for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is such a great book! I couldn't put it down and kept wondering what the next turn would be.
A down on her luck waitress accepts cash to kill a stranger. That stranger turns out to be someone from her past. Then there are other dynamic between the characters and everyone has something to hide. This kept my attention and was such a suspenseful read!!
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for access to this eARC.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: May 20, 2025
After her boyfriend cheated on her, Kim is struggling to make it on her own, waiting tables at a country club, catering to the rich and elite. When she finds out her beloved dog needs life-saving surgery, she knows that she is going to need to take drastic measures in order to get the money she needs. Those measures take the form of The Stranger- a random person who reaches out to her and tells her that if she covertly murders one of her rich customers, they will ensure Kim has more than enough money. Kim desperately jumps at the chance, until she finds out that the target is her ex from high school, Tony, her first love, and she backs out. But the night Tony was supposed to die, his new fiancée, PJ, dies instead. Kim is caught up in a web of lies and deceit- was PJ’s death intentional? And, if not, was Tony the intended target? What will The Stranger do when they find out that Tony is still alive?
Jaime Lynn Hendrick’s new novel, “Their Double Lives”, is a multi-protagonist, multi-timeline gripping novel of suspense and intrigue. Narrated by Kim, PJ and Tony (and Matt, PJ’s best friend, takes over toward the end) both before PJ’s death and after, the story instantly hooked me as I got to know the characters and quickly learned that they are not who they claimed to be.
There are a lot of twists and turns, but Hendrick’s manages to keep the intricate plot digestible and addicting. Hendricks’ characters are well-developed, and she ensures all of the plot points receive the full conclusion they deserve. The ending took me by complete surprise, yet still managed to make perfect plot sense, as only skilled writers can accomplish.
Hendricks has many suspenseful fiction novels under her belt, such as “Finding Tessa” and “It Could Be Anyone” and yet she has still managed to evade my radar. Her name is instantly recognizable to me, though, and I am so glad that I was finally given the oppourtunity to explore one of her creative stories.
“Lives” takes a deep dive into the secrets people tell others about themselves and the motives behind them. Addicting and engaging, “Lives” is a revenge-fueled murder mystery that will leave you guessing until the final pages.

Thank you @scarletsuspense @jaimelynnhendricksauthor & @netgalley for my complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

How far would you go to save the life of your beloved pet? It may sound far-fetched, but for Kim, her dog Murphy is her entire world, and he desperately needs a life-saving surgery that she can't afford. When she receives a shocking offer of $20,000 to kill a stranger, she reluctantly agrees—only to discover that the stranger is someone from her past: her high school boyfriend. What a twist! And the situation only gets more complicated from there.

This fast-paced domestic thriller unfolds through multiple perspectives, featuring morally complex characters that I found surprisingly relatable. I couldn't put this book down!

Title: Their Double Lives
Author: Jaime Lynn Hendricks         
Genre: Mystery/thriller   
Rating: 4 out of 5

Living a double life always comes with a cost.

A down-on-her-luck waitress at a posh New Jersey country club, Kim Valva couldn’t be living a more different life from the carefree socialites she serves. Her live-in boyfriend recently cheated on her, her social life is in shambles, and her dog needs a life-saving surgery that she can’t afford. Then her luck seems to change when a mysterious figure identifying themself only as The Stranger contacts her with an offer she can’t Put a pill in the new member’s drink and, when he dies, she’ll have enough money to fix her dog and her life.

Her target turns out to be Tony Fiore—Kim’s bad boy ex-boyfriend from high school. Fifteen years have passed, and he now goes by Anthony Fuller. He’s cleaned up, made tens of millions, and his gorgeous fiancée, twenty-two-year-old PJ Walsh, is on his arm.

PJ had her own agenda from the second she met Anthony. Find him, trick him, marry him, kill him. It was supposed to be easy, but she finds that while living her double life, the lines blur between who she is and who she’s pretending to be.

Stunned to see Tony again, Kim can’t bring herself to go through with spiking his drink. Instead, it is PJ who dies horrifically at the table just as dinner ends. Was someone else at the club—member or worker—tasked with poisoning PJ just as she had been instructed to do to Tony? Who would want both of them dead? With no one to trust and The Stranger to answer to, Kim must peel back the layers of deceit to reveal a deeply buried truth, more shocking than she could ever imagine…

I was kind of ambivalent about these characters. I didn’t love them, didn’t really hate them (except maybe Anthony’s boss’s wife). The dog was probably the best character of all. The level of duplicity in these people was next level, and if this hadn’t been such a quick read, I’d have put it down just because of that. There were lots of twists and turns here, but I did figure out who The Stranger was before the reveal. A solid read—if you don’t need characters you love.

Jaime Lynn Hendricks lives in Florida. Their Double Lives is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Penzler Publishers/Scarlet in exchange for an honest review.)

(Blog link live 5/23).

Yes, I would probably commit a crime (if I could get away with it) to obtain enough money for my dog’s life-saving surgery. Maybe not murder, though. Kim, a 33 year old waitress at a New Jersey country club, will definitely consider murder, but when the supposed victim is revealed to be her ex from her chaotic teen years back in New York, maybe she won’t get away with it. Kim hesitates and doesn’t poison her target, but suddenly, his date is choking instead. Were there supposed to be two dead bodies? Is she going to have to give back the money that would save Murphy the goldendoodle’s life? Anyway, too bad about the much younger fiancée, Poppy Jade. Kim probably would have liked her.

Author Hendricks crafts a crazy thriller about a would-be killer who can’t figure out how her predicament is going to end. Kim becomes very paranoid, expecting “The Stranger” to pop into her life at any moment to demand their money back and that she finishes the assignment. There are really only six main characters and a dog, but the tangled web of passion and revenge between them all creates an action-packed super-intriguing thriller. 5 stars!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES Maddy has “fiercely light green eyes.”
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO We do get a lesson on the Hawaiian Loganiaceae seed, but Carolina Jasmine in south Florida would have been a nearer substitute.

Thank you to Penzler Publishers/Scarlet and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher and all opinions expressed are mine.

This was a messy twisty read. It is perfect for fans of John Wick (believe me) . It follows a waitress down on her luck whose luck is about to change but you know what they say about luck -there is always a price.

Super twisty fun read perfect for fans of The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson. When a waitress in a Jersey Shore country club needs money for her dog's surgery, she's offered a chance to poison someone for cash. She's seriously thinking about it, when she learns her target is her high school boyfriend. If this sounds comic, it's not really. It's

My blog review will be live May 19 and Goodreads is up now.

So thankful for another book that delivered! @thrillerbookloversthepulse gets to review some of the best books out there!

What I loved about this book was a woman willing to do anything to save her dog. This book had an incredible pace because I flew through this one. This was a fast-paced, gritty, and salacious book that could easily be read in one sitting. It was everything I needed it to be! It was a total treat!

🥂 Rich People Behaving Bad
🥂 MC Devoted to Her Pup🐶🐾
🥂 Multiple POVs
🥂 Popcorn Thriller
🥂 Twisty
🥂 Cons Galore

I went into this one blind because… hello, Hendricks! Plus the title had me alone. Such a wild ride and my new favorite by her! 🤯

Full of lies, twists, and uncertainty - Their Double Lives had me guessing every step of the way. Loved the depth of the character development, red herrings galore, and it’s always a win for me when I have a fast paced unpredictable read.

Hendricks manages to create such binge worthy reads. If this isn’t on your radar yet, no worries, add it to your TBR now!

TW: Loss of a parent off page, infidelity, murder

4.5 stars!

Kim Valva, a struggling waitress, is offered money to spike a drink at her country club, but when she realizes the target is her ex-boyfriend, she can't go through with it. The target's fiancée, PJ, has her own plan to marry and kill him. When PJ dies at dinner, Kim is left to unravel the mystery and find out who wanted them both dead.

This plot was not only interesting, but also executed flawlessly, if I do say so myself. This is my first dive into this author's work, but the buzz surrounding this book was impossible to ignore. I knew I had to join the party when I saw the #thrillerbookloversthepulse getting in on the action.

With two different points of view - one from Kim and the other from Poppy Jade, also known as PJ - we can delve deeper into the happenings and motivations behind the story. Getting to know both characters slowly allows us to anticipate the twists and turns that lie ahead. I must admit, I didn't see any of it coming, but that's what happens when you judge a book by its cover and not the blurb.

The back-and-forth between the characters truly helps to develop their personalities, and all the burning questions in your mind are answered by the end. Anthony and Matt make appearances as well, but they're just the cherry on top of the Kim and PJ sundae.

The intricacy of the plot and its flawless execution had me hooked from start to finish. I loved how everything tied together in the end, with an extra twist thrown in for good measure.

If you're a fan of fast-paced reads with dark secrets, lies, and deceit, with morally grey characters, then this book is right up your alley. It's so binge-worthy that you could easily devour it in one afternoon - it's a real page-turner. I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did!

Thank you, Scarlet, for the digital ARC copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I devoured this thriller! Great characters, subtle twists. Kim is struggling as a freelance designer and waitress at a club with a sick dog when she is contacted by an anonymous Stranger with a way to come into a bunch of cash. However, things get complicated when Kim realizes she not only knows but used to be in love with the target they have given her to take out.
All of the characters, even the unlikable ones, were so fun and I finished this one in a day & a half.

Kim is a waitress at a New Jersey country club and she is living a double life. Her dog needs a life saving surgery that will cost ten thousand dollars and she is desperate to get it for him. A mysterious figure called The Stranger contacts her and offers her lots of money to put a pill in a member's drink. The target ends up being her bad boyfriend from high school. She hasn't seen him in 15 years and now he goes by a different name. He's also a millionaire and has a gorgeous girlfriend, PJ. He doesn't know it but PJ also wants to kill him. Many layers of deceit have to be peeled back to find the truth. There are many twists in this book. It was very enjoyable. Thanks to @NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

3.5 rounded to 4.
Honestly, no better motive for murder than protecting your pet. I too would do anything for my pets.
A little predictable. Overall a fun fast paced thriller.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The synopsis is great and the novel starts of strongly, unfortunately it quickly loses its way- which made it difficult to finish.

Kim Valva, a graphic designer, works as a waitress at a country club on the Jersey Shore to make ends meet. After high school, she moved away from Brooklyn to distance herself from her boyfriend, Tony Fiore, a local troublemaker. Her beloved dog Murphy is now ill and needs surgery. When someone identified only as "The Stranger" contacts Kim through a burner phone left at her home, she is offered $20,0000 to poison a new member of the country club. It's the money she needs to save Murphy. Desperate, she agrees. However, when she sees her target, Anthony Fuller, a multi-millionaire, Kim instantly recognizes him as Tony Fiore, her first love. Deciding she cannot go through with the murder, Anthony's young fiancée, Poppy Jade "PJ" Walsh, suddenly collapses and dies at the table. What is happening? Through alternating flashbacks and present-day events, it is revealed that PJ was not her real identity, having created a double life to take revenge on Tony/Anthony: "Find him, marry him, destroy him, kill him." Who is "The Stranger," who killed PJ, and is Kim the next target?

Their Double Lives by Jaime Lynn Hendricks was such a fun psychological thriller. It's fast-moving, clever, and engaging. The story is packed with twists and unexpected turns. You won't want to put this book down.

4.25 stars.

Thank you to my partners, Thriller Book Lovers The Pulse, NetGalley, and Scarlet Suspense, and the author. I appreciate the gifted eARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily!

1. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐅𝐚𝐫 𝐖𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐆𝐨 • These type of plot lines always make me question what it would take for me to accept a proposition such as Kim receives. When push comes to shove, I’d choose myself and what’s important to me.

2. 𝐃𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 • The past and present were a perfect mix to bring the story together. I loved seeing how PJ’s feeling changed throughout her time with Anthony. And then to see how what he uncovered changed him at the same time. I think this story needed to be told in this alternating fashion.

3. 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 • It felt like whiplash quite often while reading this one. Everyone is hiding something and I was there for every revelation and recourse. I loved how so many seemed to think they were pulling the wool over the eyes of another, when in reality, they were not!

4. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 • The reader is left to figure out just who is behind the situation Kim finds herself in. I went back and forth between knowing and not knowing…until the realization started to present itself! And I was spot on! What a great twist into the betrayals that so many felt.

5. 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 • It’s truly amazing how some people just have the ability to charm anyone. Anthony seems to have this ability right up until the end. Kim almost finds herself back in his clutches and it was difficult to decide what was in her best interest.